More than four in five (82%) U.S.adults plan to take at least one trip for leisure sometime in the next six months…
More than four in five (82%) U.S.adults plan to take at least one trip for leisure sometime in the next six months. In addition, one in five plans to travel for business purposes (22%) and some business travelers will combine their business trips to include leisure plans (19%) at least once in the next six months. When leisure travelers and combined business/leisure travelers booked or plan to book arrangements for their next trip, the most used booking channel cited by both groups is online travel websites (28% of leisure travelers and 31% of business/leisure travelers). Of those solely traveling for business purposes, one quarter (24%) have booked or plan to book their arrangements using their corporate travel department followed by 22 percent using or planning to use an online travel website.
These are some of the results from The 2004 Travel Report, a study conducted quarterly by Harris Interactive(R). The most recent study was conducted online between September 14 and 17, 2004 among a nationwide sample of 1,544 U.S. adults, of whom 1,344 will be traveling at least once in the next six months for any reason.
Perhaps travelers` perceptions of the value these sites offer is what has led to online travel websites being the most used by both leisure and combined business/leisure travelers, and the second most used channel by business travelers. Nearly two in five (37%) adults believe online travel agencies offer the lowest prices for planning and booking travel, compared to suppliers (15%) or traditional travel agencies (4%). Also, nearly a third (32%) believes that these online agencies offer the best value when booking travel arrangements.
While many adults planning to take a leisure trip in the next six months have booked or plan to book their arrangements using online travel websites, travel supplier websites, full-service travel agencies, etc., one in ten leisure travelers (10%) are undecided about how they will book their next trip.
Jim Quilty, vice president of travel research at Harris Interactive, states, This undecided segment creates an opportunity for either suppliers or intermediaries to deliver a compelling message and tap into the interests and desires of these potential customers.
Not surprising, for those U.S. adults who have booked or plan to book travel arrangements using online travel agencies, e.g. Travelocity, Orbitz and Expedia, lowest prices (78%) is what people say influences them to be loyal to a particular agency. However, they also find website design and ease of use (36%), quality of vacation packages offered (34%), knowing the brand of the travel provider (32%) and the ability to speak to a live agent (27%) as top influencers of loyalty.
If travel websites in general are looking to increase customer loyalty, it appears that they will need to focus on three areas — price, information and service. Nearly three in five (59%) U.S. adults say their loyalty to a particular travel website would increase if the site offered lower
rates/prices. Other loyalty factors are price comparisons (40%), discounts on travel (34%), and the ability to speak to a live agent (22%).
With more than a third of all adults saying they don`t know which channel offers the lowest prices (38%) or the best value (36%), the industry player who can demonstrate either of these attributes – or both – stands to gain significant market share, says Quilty.
TABLE 1
NUMBER OF TRIPS IN NEXT SIX MONTHS
How many trips do you anticipate taking within the next six months for the following reasons …
Base: All adults (n=1,544)
C)2004, Harris Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without the express written permission of Harris Interactive.
TABLE 2
HOW WILL YOU BOOK YOUR TRIP?
How did you book your travel arrangements for your upcoming (insert type here) trip? If you have not yet booked your arrangements, please indicate how you anticipate booking your arrangements. Please select all that apply.
Base: All adults traveling within the next six months (n=1,344)
(C)2004, Harris Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without the express written permission of Harris Interactive.
TABLE 3
PERCEPTIONS OF LOWEST PRICE AND BEST VALUE
Q: Generally speaking, when you consider shopping and booking your travel, whom do you believe offers the lowest prices?
Q: Generally speaking, when you consider shopping and booking your travel, whom do you believe offers the best value?
Base: All Adults (n=1,544)
TABLE 4
HOW ONLINE AGENCIES MAKE YOU LOYAL
Considering the range of third-party online travel agencies from which you can choose, which of the following has the greatest influence on your loyalty to any particular online agency? Please select up to three influencers listed below.
Base: All adults traveling within the next six months(n=1,344)
C)2004, Harris Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without the express written permission of Harris Interactive.
TABLE 5
WHAT COULD TRAVEL SITES DO TO MAKE YOU LOYAL?
Given the ease with which you can price, shop, and compare travel offerings via travel websites, what could a particular travel website do to increase your loyalty to its website? Choose three.
Base: All Adults (n=1,544)
Note: Multi-response question.
(C)2004, Harris Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without the express written permission of Harris Interactive.
Methodology
The survey was conducted online between September 14 and 17, 2004 among a nationwide cross section of 1,544 U.S. adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents` propensity to be online.
In theory, with samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for the overall sample. Sampling error for the smaller sample results (see tables above) are higher and vary. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors. This online sample was not a probability sample.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
